Author: Staci

Staci blogs about travel at TheVoyageer.com.

Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Tips

I am not gluten-intolerant, but I am noticing an increasing number of people around me with gluten intolerance, which in it’s simplest essence, is a wheat allergy. (I know it can be more complicated/nuanced than that, though. Here’s a great resource.) Growing up with a sibling who has a food allergy (peanut) I can sympathize with the importance of awareness and the ability to accommodate someone’s food requirements. Just in case you need to bring a GF contribution to a Thanksgiving gathering next week, this post is for you.

My friend Amy has been modifying her diet in the past year to be gluten-free. I asked her to curate a link round-up of Thanksgiving favorites which have all been pre-screened by someone “in the know” to be GF! So, feel free to get in the kitchen with any of these! 

Alton Brown’s Good Eats Roast Turkey

Rachael Ray’s Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Spinach

Corn Bread Stuffing (A great alternative to regular bread stuffing)

Oven Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Sweet Potato Casserole (Amy’s note: this recipe calls for flour in the crunchy topping. Leave the flour out and everything will be OK, or simply pick up a GF flour from a grocery like Whole Foods.)

Fresh Pumpkin Pie (note: use this GF recipe for pie crust)

My take-aways: Luckily, it would appear that most Thanksgiving foods do not need to be altered. Turkey? Sure, as long as you stuff the bird with vegetables or corn bread stuffing. Mashed potatoes? Yams? Cranberry sauce? In the clear. It’s when you get to the dressing/stuffing, rolls, pies, and casseroles that a chef needs to use caution. In regards to marshmallows, the normal ones are GF but use caution when considering ones with fancy flavors or anything. Also, be wary of canned soups (cream of chicken, cream of celery, etc) due to preservatives that might include modified food starch or malt flavoring. And for salads, don’t use croutons, but use nuts, sunflower seeds or tortilla strips to add a little crunch.

Now, I know GF baking is a whole different animal! So many different kinds of flour to keep track of! Luckily for me, I prefer making savory dishes and leave the baking for someone else. Have you ever created a special menu due to one of your guests having an allergy? Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it’s challenging!

A Little Catch-Up

Thanks, everyone for all the encouraging comments on Monday’s announcement.

That was a fantastic day overall, beginning with West Elm featuring a photo of my old bedroom on their instagram feed (I had submitted it to them a while ago, right after I bought the Ironwork Duvet Cover) and continuing with all your support about my design services. I was unable to tend to each comment as they came in since I’e been picking up more hours at work–yay, this is good news, as anyone in retail knows, “getting more hours” is the name of the game.

The past two days have been super successful for me at Sur La Table and since it’s on my mind, I’d like to remind everyone to get their knives sharpened before the holiday season gets into full swing. If you live near a SLT (here’s their store locator), you can get any knife sharpened for free (and any following knives sharpened for $5 each) from now until the day before Thanksgiving. Sorry if I sound like an advertisement, but I think it’s a great way to keep your tools in good shape. If you don’t live near a SLT, call around and see if any local kitchen/cookware stores are offering sharpening services.

The weather here has been getting awfully chilly at night–I even turned our heat on this morning, it was down to around 60 in the apartment. We have a radiant heat system installed in the ceiling, which is a totally foreign concept to me–if heat rises, why would the heater be in the ceiling? I really couldn’t tell if it was working or if the apartment just gradually got warmer as the day warmed up outside. Time will tell, I suppose!

This post is more like a little catch-up, I suppose. Even though I posted on Monday it feels like ages since I sat down and spent some time blogging. I’ve got a huge list of topics I want to get written, yet time seems to fly by so quickly!

Forgive me for having two rambley posts in a row. I’ll be back on Friday with a few Thanksgiving tips and ideas! Have a great Wednesday, everyone.

How is your week going so far? I’d love to hear about it :) 

Announcing Design Services

Okay, everyone. Hang on to your hats.

I’ve had this idea in mind for a long, long, time but have been too nervous to do anything about it… what if I announce this and get no response from it?  Now, I am throwing caution (and my ego) to the wind and just going for it.

It’s no secret that I love home design. Sometimes it seems like it’s all I think about. Now, I know other people might not feel like they have “the eye” or a natural inclination for this, and for this reason, I would love to step in, offer an awkward handshake, and ask if they want my help. This announcement is me doing just that. The “design services” page has been ready to go up for a few months now, but I haven’t known how to go about it. Do I sneak it up into the header and hope people notice? Or do I do something else with more fanfare for a grand announcement?

Well, as you can see, I settled for a middle of the road option. A somewhat nervous introductory post. Which is just, “me.” No use pretending to be anyone else, right?

I have decided to start offering inspiration boards (I hate the term “mood board”) and floor planning services! Click here to see some example mood boards, and here for a little break down on my floor planning process.

 

For future reference, check out the Design Services page!